


it's cold in my memories

by endlesslytea



Category: RWBY
Genre: just a friendly talk between winter and the winter maiden, the rest are mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:49:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22198867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endlesslytea/pseuds/endlesslytea
Summary: The Winter Maiden is not in the best state of mind, every day closer to dying, and with Winter being the only one allowed to talk to her, who knows what may come up?
Relationships: Winter Schnee & Fria
Comments: 10
Kudos: 48





	it's cold in my memories

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what inspired me to write this, but here it is.

“Good morning, Fria. Did you sleep well?” Asked Winter as she closed the door with her hip, holding a tray with breakfast in her hands.

Winter woke up every morning, and the first thing she did was look in the mirror. Had something changed in her during the night? She didn't know how the transition of the powers worked (or if she was going to get them, but that was aside the point). Was it special? Could she feel it? She would dress up quickly and ran to the room of the current Winter Maiden, not knowing what to expect.

_What if she had died during the night?_

“I did.” Said Fria. Winter smiled. 

The young woman walked to the table next to the bed and set the tray down. She put a spoonful of honey in the tea and handed it to the maiden. With trembling hands, Fria took it.

She took a small sip and sighed. "Ah, this takes me back."

“Does it?” Winter asked, but she already knew. Fria always talked about the same people and the same things: her old partner, Ivorie, and the battles they fought when they were younger and huntresses weren’t a real thing (not in title at least), about her husband, Rusty, and how meant to be they were, and about her daughter, Olive, who “looked so much like you, you know?” as she said to Winter often. 

Winter _should_ have been worried about this. _She_ was supposed to be the last person in Fria’s mind if she wanted to inherit the maiden powers, but what was she supposed to do? Tell the old woman to stop thinking about the people she loved? Even more when…

“My Rusty made me a tea every morning.” Mumble Fria. “But always put too much honey! You would expect after almost thirty years together he would learn, but even in the day he died he put too much honey.”

_Should Winter smile? Was Fria making a joke?_ The old woman continued to drink her tea. Winter never knew what to say when she talked about dead people. 

She could handle sadness, maybe even crying, but _acceptance_? Winter was lost.

Fria herself hadn't told her, but Ironwood did. Ivorie died in a fight when she was only thirty-two. Rusty got sick, and died before he was fifty. And her only daughter, her husband and their two-year-old daughter had died in a grimm attack about sixteen years ago while traveling. Their bodies haven’t even been found.

It was sad. It was horrible, but Fria talked about them as if they were in vacation.

"Just for the fun of it Olive would put honey in his coffee and say ‘that's how mamma likes it, see!’, she was such a joker!

The old woman laughed, and Winter tried to smile.

"It's sounds like she was." She said while grabbing her own cup of coffee. 

"She really was!" Continued Fria. "And her daughter was heading the same way, you know, like mother like child! Except in looks, little No-No was as redhead as her father."

She giggled while shaking her head. Winter swallowed.

"I hope you don't mind me asking." Began Winter, not knowing how to ask. "How... how do you deal with it?"

"With what, dear?"

Winter raised her head and looked at the maiden in the eyes. "With the _pain_."

Fria didn't stop smiling. In fact, she smiled even more. 

"I don't, really."

She raised her tea to her lips again and closed her eyes as she drank.

Winter looked at the older woman with her eyes wide open. She didn't understand, _how? How could she...?_

"My father was a terrible man too." Said Fria in such a quiet voice that Winter almost thought she had imagine it.

"W-what?"

"Your father is the one who married Nicholas Schnee’s daughter, isn't he? I was invited to their wedding. Of course I didn't go. I knew what that man meant, dirty business since the beginning."

_How was Winter supposed to feel? How was she supposed to react?_

"Your mother... I don't remember her name, my apologies, she was a few years older than my Olive, but still young, too young to be marry anyone, more than anyone that Jack."

"Jacques."

"Yes, him! What a... Oh, honey, are you crying?"

Winter stood up and walked to face the wall. She wiped her eyes and tried to still her breathing.

"I am not." She said after some seconds. "I apologize."

"Oh, there's no need, Olive, you don't need to hide your emotions."

She turned around to look at the woman again. Fria didn't seem to notice her mistake.

Winter never lost her temper like that. _What was wrong with her?_ Maybe it was because of the dinner that night. She needed to put herself together.

"You have a beautiful daughter, a loving husband, friends, and me, you don't have to hide your feelings, honey."

"But I don't." Whispered Winter, unable to control herself. "I don't have friends or family, my brother is still stuck, my mother doesn't do anything, and I just ran the moment I could, without looking back. I left them all behind; my sister had to get away herself."

"What sister?"

Winter didn't even tried to wipe her tears this time. She was safe there. It was only her and Fria, and the woman didn't even remember her name most of the time. Was it fair? Fria thought she was talking to her daughter, shouldn't Winter leave? But the General wanted her there, what should she do? _What was she supposed to do with everything?_

Fria looked at her with doubt, and finished her tea. Winter sat again, and cleaned her face. They stayed in silence the rest of the morning.

"I hope you are my last one in my mind when I die." Whispered Fria as Winter cleaned up. "You are a good person, Winter Schnee."

The young woman raised her head. She was going to just smile and get out, but her mouth betrayed her. She whispered with a broken voice: "Do you think so?"

Fria smiled, and Winter couldn't help but to envy Olive.

"Yes you are. I know you want to be the next Winter Maiden, and I will try to help you, but you know what, dear? It would be better if you weren't."

Winter sat in her chair again. "Why is that?" 

"It's a sad path the one of the Maidens. It's dangerous. We lost too many people, or ourselves. When I saw that my Olive was a girl, I cried. Because I knew I would love her, and that she would be my last thought. And then she went and had a girl on her own." She laughed. "My daughter..."

Winter smirked. "A joker, right?"

Fria raised her head and gave her a wide smile.

"Yes, she was! And her little No-No was going through the same path, like mother like daughter! Except by looks, that kid was as redhead as her father." She repeated. 

"I'm sure she was."

"That little girl... she would be a woman now. Almost twenty, I think."

Winter couldn’t help but to smile with pride. "My sister is close to twenty." 

For the first time, Fria didn't smile. Her eyes went numb.

Winter stood paralyzed. _What had she done?_ This is why she didn't talked about those things, what would she do? _Hug her?_

But before anything, Fria smiled again.

"I kept you here long enough, No-No must be awake already."

Winter smiled. "She must. I'll leave you for the moment."

"Go, go, but don’t forget! Your father and I will make dinner tonight."

"I don't know if I'll make it tonight, but I'll try."

"I know it's hard with No-No, but you really need to take it easy."

This was the moment for Winter to leave. She took the tray, now with empty cups, and headed to the entrance. Fria continued to ramble as Winter opened the door.

"You don't have to worry so much, Olive."

"I'll be back tomorrow morning Fria, have a good day." 

"You'll see, little Nora will be an amazing girl."

And Winter, who was already gone, didn't hear that name.

**Author's Note:**

> Me? Making Nora Fria's granddaughter? Believing she will be the next Winter Maiden and not Winter? It's more likely than you think.  
> (Also did you get tired of Winter questioning herself all the time? That's trauma. Hope you liked it.)


End file.
